Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-01-06
THE ART OF LAUGHING.
BONE THING WHICH CONSISTS OF
UNCOMEl.Y FACIAL CONTORTlON.

John Il. Coughs Best Thfng-How q
Dog Laughs-The Jolly Family Doctor.
Lincoln and the Laughing Spot-Wash-
ington-Our Humorists.
Why is it people don't like to be laug he'd ata
What is laughter anyway Apparently
very innocent affair; muscular contortion-
rarely a eomely twist of the features. Could
you imagine anything more laughable than to
have Charles Summer and Tom Corwin
brought into social contact for an hourl
Sumner always felt of a joke as he would tho
handles of battery, and the result was a
shock. He hated a joker. Corwin was cor
ruscating with wit and fun in spite of himself.
He was the greatest statesman and wit COM
bined the country has ever produced. He died
at last as you have seen a vast discharge OF
rockets flashing and illuminating, and then
suddenly all was darkness forever Lincoln,
however, was more grim. He was not so
royalty a laugher as Corwin. But what
would you give to see the span in Paradisel
ART OF MAKING LAUGHTER.
John B. Coughs best thing was to tell an
audience that he intended very soon to make
them laugh-laugh at something silly. He
gave them preparatory notice that what he
was going to say amounted to nothing; was
not worth laughing at; yet they would all
laugh themselves tired. Then he went on
coolly to do it. And they always did laugh
and then looked at each other to see what
they were laughing at. No one ever found
out, and John said to them: Il told you SO"
He had the art Of making laughter. He was
not himself good laugher by any measure
In private he was decidedly a sober, matter
of-fact man.
There is not an animal that know of that
does not try to laugh, and make some ap-
proach to it, only none Of them have as good
laughing muscles as we have. It is partly q
matter of cheeks. But what jolly affair a
dog is when his master comes homei He
splits up n roaring laugh between his head
and tail Between the two his whole body is
contorted into grins that finally work of as
barks. They say wild dogs do not bark. 1t
is because they do not laugh.
You should always have for a family doc
tor man who can laugh. A laugh once
saved my life. 1t never is so useful as by
way of medicament. My doctor tells good
story and has genuine smile. Smiles are
generally not genuine. They are mostly
grins half smothered When your doctor
looks cheerful and hopeful, you catch it of
him. Lincoln, bearing the country on his
heart in hours of disaster, fortunately could
laugh. Gen. W. Julian tells us that when
Lincoln approached the laughing spot, in a
good story, he would lift his left foot to his
right knee, and clinching his foot with both
hands and bending forward, his whole frame
eonvulsed with his sensations of delight
WHEN WASHINGTON LAUGHED
Washington is never known to have laughed
but once. 1t was at Valley Forge. He had
ordered that whoever, officer or private, got
drunk should be compelled to cut stump in
pieces. Where the camp was formed these
stumps were overabundant One morning
while making his tour of observation no came
upon soldier who was chopping out the very
last stump. Washington called to him pleas.
antly, "Well, good fellow, you have found
the last stump "Yes, SIR growled the
man, "and now when an officer gets drunk
there won't be stump left for him." The
general laughed heartily and looked at his Of
ficers as if there were some of them entitled
to feel relief
Carlyle, in" Sartor Resartus, tells of laugh,
ter that takes in the whole man from head tc
heels There are as many styles of laughter
as there are laughers. One begins slowly, the
fun gently ereeps out along the risible mus
cles; then the hands fly up, the feet fly out
and the mouth flies open. This man becomes
the victim of joke, for it is very difficult tC
stop when he gets TO a reasonable maximum
Tom Jones-that is not his name, but that
makes no difference here-never laughs with,
out such rush of blood to his head that am
afraid for his life,
Laughter is as much a matter of style as
language. There is an eastern laugh, slightly
conservative, and curvtd up at the ends
with culture. There is a western laugh, that
is broad full, unreserved, open and hilarious
The Englishman's laugh is self-conscious and
| more or less inconsiderate. The Frenchmans
laugh is considerate and courteous. Dickens
laughter is wholly unlike Thackeray's You
can never quite avoid feeling that Thack
eray's laugh is personal; be laughs at you
OF all the daughters alive there is none equa
| In good fellowship to DR.. Holmes. There
| should be a bit of pathos in a sound laugh
Bret Harte has it. OF all the humorists by
| profession only NJ Quad has it-Cor Globe
| Democrat.